MechAssault Preview

Mech-style shooters seem to be popluar these days, which is exactly the reason why we'll see several Mech flavored games appear on the Xbox console in the coming months. Phantagram's is working hard on their futuristic mech game Phantom Crash, while the Japanese developer Capcom means to conquer the Xbox gaming scene with Steel Battalion (or Tekki, as it is known in Japan). Last, but not least, Day 1 and Microsoft have already shown the significant improvements they've made with the action title MechAssault. The demonstration at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, truly "blew away" some of the competing Xbox games that were showcased at the time. So, what is MechAssault all about? Well, let's find out.

A pissed-off red-eyed BattleMEch.

A close up of a pissed-off red-eyed BattleMEch.

The story so far remains pretty simple: Your enemy is an organization of techno-zealots, called the Word of Blake, who are in charge of a distant world that needs to be liberated immediately. This is where your team comes in. You are assigned with the Wolf Dragoons and your main task is to, shall we say, spring clean the area of a certain enemy-infested planet until the invasion force lands.

This game continues the popular BattleTech franchise. The developers have clarified there MechAssault will be quite different from games like MechWarrior and MechCommander. Namely, each of these games focuses on enhancing a specific genre. As it was revealed MechAssault puts emphasis on third-person action - strolling around and creating mass destruction using any one out of the twelve available mech units. Clearly, the gameplay generally focuses on action. Players get various mission objectives to complete and will encounter many unforeseen twists and turns throughout these assignments. For example, you'll be taking out an enemy weapon manufacturing facility, after which you may encounter several huge and most unpleasant Mech-bosses. Following that you get a new task, and so on. The action never stops...

In between missions you will be allowed to upgrade your Mech. Almost anything can be modified in the Mid-mission upgrade. Weapon efficiency and power can be boosted, the basic armor can be enhanced, and you can even alter the exterior of your Mech unit.

The realistic physics of MechAssault will have a great impact on the gameplay. The destructive weaponry system of your mech unit is capable of taking out bridges, buildings, towers, and other huge structures, which can prove pretty damn useful if some of these structures provide shelter for enemies (i.e. you can blast a bridge where enemy tanks are lurking, and that's the end of their story).

Visually the game is going to rock. For instance, the game has neat-looking real-time weapons damage effects that will truly blow your mind. Some of these weapons were shown at the E3 and, apart from having a lasting visual appeal, they also reacted to the environment. This feature was demonstrated with the use of the laser cannons, which overheat after a certain period of intense firing.

I don't care much for huge corporate buildings. No problem let's bring it down!

Starting evasive maneuvers. Arggh!

Instead of waiting for them to cool off, you can use near by water areas to cool off the lasers (or you can just stand in the water and the lasers won't scorch at all). The ER PPC's are going to trigger pretty nifty particle effects. Of course we mustn't forget that the game features various weather effects like snow and fog that will enhance the game's realism more so.

BTW, some of the areas will be filled with civilian vehicles so you're gonna have to watch out where you're stepping with those huge mech feet of yours. These AI-controlled NPS's won't be dumb either, so if they see a fuss breaking out between bad-ass mech units they will immediately find cover.

MechAssault will have an extensive voice messaging system, realistic in-game sounds, and various high-quality music themes that are harmonized with the action on screen. The game is also going to support various usual multiplayer modes such as Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, the dreaded split-screen mode, and others. This multiplayer will allow up to 12 players online.

That's all we can say for now. MechAssault will be hitting the shelves some time during Q4 2002. Until then you can expect more details and media in the coming moths.